Episode 1353: The Show Goes On
Date March 26, 2019 Summary In a bonus episode of EW, Ben Lindbergh talks to SABR’s Jacob Pomrenke about the centennial of the notorious 1919 White Sox, SABR’s new “Eight Myths Out” project, the persistent misconceptions about why the Black Sox threw the 1919 World Series, whether the scandal could have stayed secret, the complicated legacy of Eight Men Out, what Jacob wishes he knew about the Black Sox, the future of gambling and baseball, and more. Then (34:57) Ben brings on FanGraphs’ Paul Sporer to discuss Paul’s history with baseball video games, digital baseball versus digital versions of other sports, and why Paul’s face is in MLB The Show 19, and Ben and Paul discuss the evolution of The Show and the latest installment in the franchise (45:56) with Sony community manager and game designer Ramone Russell. Topics * “Black Sox” fatigue * How did Jacob become interested in the scandal * 8 Men Out more harm or good * Is the truth more compelling than the fiction * Could this story have ever been kept a secret * Were there other World Series that were fixed * How was so much misinformation included in the book * Were there other books that weren't as misleading as 8 men out * Were there villains or victims in this story * Lack of Shoeless Joe Jackson in the book * Shoeless Joe hall of fame candidacy * Unresolved questions * Are there concerns about today's game * Is enjoyment of the movie gone now? * Paul's baseball video game origin * Paul is in the game * Is not having competition good or bad * March to October * New Legends in game * Making changes based on real baseball * Could you make the game true to life changes * Making the defense look good and have a real feel * Are actual baseball players better at the game * Getting into diamond dynasty * Moments feature * Road to the Show * How has pitch and player tracking changed the game? Intro * Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez, "Extra" Interstitial * Guided By Voices, "Just to Show You" Outro * The Rolling Stones, "On With the Show" Notes * The first fixed baseball game happened in 1865, before the national league was even invented. * Charles Comiskey send out private investigators to follow players after the World Series. * It was regular practice to bet on your own games at the time of the scandal, especially at the amateur level. * Eight months of research went into making the game more difficult on the high end, and a bit easier on the lower end. Links https://blogs.fangraphs.com/effectively-wild-episode-1353-the-show-goes-on/ Link to SABR’s “Eight Myths Out” Link to Scandal on the South Side Link to Episode 589 on Super Mega Baseball Link to Paul and Chris Sale in MLB The Show 19 Link to Paul’s Twitch channel Link to Ben’s 2018 article on The Show mirroring the majors Link to preorder The MVP Machine Category:Episodes Category:Guest Episodes